


Fragile Things

by travels_in_time



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-10
Updated: 2010-10-10
Packaged: 2017-10-12 14:22:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/125781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/travels_in_time/pseuds/travels_in_time
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack wants to go out, but Ianto has taken on other obligations for the night.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fragile Things

"You've got to _what_?" Jack's voice echoed incredulously down the line.

Ianto sighed, cradling the receiver on his shoulder as he carefully watered the last plant on the windowsill. "It's a school assignment for my cousin Rhian. If she can't take care of it personally, she has to find a sitter, and she had a game tonight. She asked me to watch it for her."

"Watch it what?" Jack demanded. "What's it going to do, hatch?"

"Just watch it, that's all. It can't be left alone. It's supposed to give them an idea of how much work is involved in taking care of a child."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line before Jack said, "You know, they have much more high-tech devices nowadays. Actual dolls with sensors, that cry when they're not fed and changed and whatever it is you're supposed to do with kids."

"Maybe the district ran over budget," Ianto replied. He poured the remaining water in the sink and put the cup away. "Or maybe the teacher's a traditionalist. This is what she got."

"Ianto, it's an _egg_." Ianto could hear the exasperation in Jack's voice. "Toss it in the fridge and come on."

"I can't. Rhian asked me because she knew I'd take care of it."

"Good ol' dependable Ianto." The words were laced with sarcasm.

Ianto kept his temper in check with an effort. "Yes. Dependable. Responsible. You should try looking those words up in the dictionary sometime. Just as a purely theoretical exercise, you understand."

Jack didn't say anything for a moment. Then he sighed. "All right, I get it. You're egg-sitting and you're not going to be any fun at all tonight."

"Sorry, Jack." He wasn't, not really. "You're just going to have to go out and be irresponsible without me."

"Not a chance." He could tell from Jack's voice that he was grinning now. Typical of Jack, who didn't so much have mood swings as he had mood rollercoasters. "I'm coming over."

"I don't think tonight's a very good time, Jack." He cast a nervous glance over at the egg, which was sitting innocuously on the counter in a torn-off section of egg carton.

"What am I supposed to do, sit around here all night and wait for the alarms to go off? You can entertain me, you and the egg. See you soon." Jack rang off without waiting for an answer, and Ianto was left rolling his eyes.

********************

Ianto heard the rattle of the key in the lock, but he was still sufficiently irritated that he didn't go down the hall to greet Jack as he normally would have.

He heard Jack closing the door, tossing his coat at the stand and missing, as he always did. He came into the kitchen with that wide unrepentant grin, and Ianto had to restrain himself from smiling back.

Jack didn't appear to notice. "So, where's this school assignment, then?" He crossed over to the counter. "Is this it?" He picked the egg up from the container and tossed it in the air, catching it easily.

"Jack!" Ianto controlled his first impulse to lunge at Jack, not wanting to jostle the egg. "Put it down!"

Jack laughed. "I'm not going to hurt it. The look on your face, though..." But he put it back in the container carefully.

"Jack..."

"All right, I won't touch it again, okay?" Jack leaned against the countertop and crossed his arms. "You know, eggs are cheap. If it breaks you can always buy another one."

Ianto shook his head. "The teacher signed them all. She'll know if Rhian gives her a different one."

"How suspicious of her. I like that in a person." Jack looked around the kitchen. "So, what's for dinner?"

Ianto looked around as well, as if food might have mysteriously appeared on the counters. "Haven't decided yet."

"Too busy feeding the egg? Changing its nappies and such?"

Ianto knew Jack was teasing him, but he didn't care much anymore. He never could stay angry with Jack for long, not once he was in the same room with him. "You laugh, but Rhian has to keep a log of everything she does for it. Just as if were a child. She has to list everything she'd do for a real infant."

"You're kidding." Jack leaned over the counter to inspect the notebook that Ianto indicated. "You're not kidding. Feeding. Burping. Changing. Well, this is somewhat surreal." He flipped back a page in the notebook. "I see that Rhian stayed up all night with it last night. Colic, apparently." He glanced up at Ianto. "Taking on more responsibility than necessary appears to run in your family."

Ianto shrugged. "We like to be thorough."

Normally Jack would have jumped on that with some fairly inappropriate remark, but this time he let it pass. He was still scanning the notebook. "She's named him Egbert."

"She's fourteen. What can you expect?"

"He's going to get beat up by all the other little eggs at school." Jack flipped the notebook closed. "Meanwhile, I'm starving to death."

"All right, I'll make something. I'll have to go to the shop first, though." Ianto glanced at the egg, coming to a decision which was only partly, he told himself firmly, based on revenge. "You can watch Egbert."

"I will not." Jack glared at him. "Take it with you."

Ianto snorted. "In what, my pocket? You can do it. Thirty minutes, tops."

Jack crossed his arms. "Nobody in their right mind would leave their kid with me. I'm the irresponsible one, remember?"

Ianto looked up, hearing some indefinable tone in Jack's voice. "I suppose you've never thought of having children. Far too much inconvenience."

Jack's chin tilted up; he looked defensive suddenly. "It has nothing to do with inconvenience. What kind of role model would I be for a kid? The object is for it to survive to adulthood, right?"

Ianto realized suddenly that he'd strayed into territory he'd sworn not to get into with Jack, at least not for a long time yet. "I suppose you're right."

He turned towards the hall, but paused and looked back at Jack, who was still watching him warily. "You know, Jack...you spend most of your time trying to defend the entire human race against things they can't even imagine. I can think of worse role models."

Jack didn't answer, and Ianto turned away again. "I'll be right back."

That broke Jack's silence. "You're not leaving me alone with this thing."

"Yes, I am. You'll be fine. You don't even have to touch it."

"I'll drop him out the window," Jack threatened, and Ianto had to fight to keep his face composed.

"No, you won't."

"How do you know that?"

Ianto met his eyes calmly. "Because you know that this is important to me."

He walked down the hall then, half-expecting to be called back, but Jack didn't say anything else.

**************************

The wait at the shop took longer than he'd anticipated, and he opened the door of his flat with a sense of impending doom, a sense which only worsened as he sniffed the air.

"Oh, God."

He went into the kitchen, where his fears were confirmed as he saw Jack standing over the stove, stirring furiously. "Jack, what've you done?"

Jack turned, grinning; he'd thrown a dishtowel over his shoulder and he was still holding a spatula in one hand as he spread his arms dramatically. "Got tired of waiting!"

"You've made omelettes," Ianto said, peering at the mixture in the frying pan. He took another look around the kitchen. "You've made omelettes and a huge mess," he corrected himself.

Jack was still looking very pleased with himself. "Can't make omelettes without breaking eggs. And maybe a few dishes, although--"

Ianto was staring at the empty counter. "Jack, where's Egbert?"

"Well..." Jack was suddenly looking very embarrassed. He put the spatula down, avoiding Ianto's eyes.

Ianto dropped his head in his hands. "Jack, I trusted you. Please tell me that this omelette is composed entirely of unnamed, unsigned, completely un-anthromorphized eggs."

"Of course it is." Jack managed to sound offended and still somewhat embarrassed at the same time. "I just wanted to cook you dinner, that's all, and this is what you had in the refrigerator."

"Then where's Egbert?"

Jack was still looking sheepish. "Um...the notebook said he had a bedtime. I didn't want you to get in trouble for missing it. So I...um...I put him to sleep for you."

He indicated the table, where a bowl was sitting. Ianto went over and inspected it. Jack had lined the bowl with another dishtowel to protect the egg, and had draped the towel so that the egg was partially covered.

The notebook sat beside the bowl. Ianto glanced at it, seeing that it had been updated. He recognized Jack's sprawling handwriting: _8:00 PM. Tucked Egbert in. Read him a bedtime story._

"Was that all right?" Jack asked from behind him. He turned to find Jack very close indeed, watching him hopefully.

"Maybe you're not as irresponsible as you like to think," Ianto said, finally allowing himself to smile at Jack as he'd been wanting to do for most of the night.

Jack grinned back and reached out to him, pulling him close. "Maybe I just wanted to get your undivided attention," he breathed against Ianto's neck.

Ianto shivered. "Thought you were starving."

"Oh, I am," Jack assured him. "For the food, even." He let go of Ianto reluctantly. "We'll eat first, and then we'll continue this conversation."

They both looked at the table. "In the bedroom," Ianto suggested.

"Where we won't wake him," Jack agreed seriously. And then they met each other's eyes, and they were both suddenly laughing so hard they could barely breathe.


End file.
